Flemington man sentenced in Ringoes bank robbery

An alleged hold-up man who pleaded guilty to robbing the former Yardville National Bank in the Ringoes section of East Amwell last year was sentenced today to more than four years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Sean Desa, 22, of Flemington, will serve a 51-month federal prison sentence and pay $7,160 in restitution to the bank, now PNC, for the robbery on July 5, 2007, under an order signed by U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano in Trenton.

Desa also will serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his custodial sentence, according to a news release issued by U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie.

Christie credited the work of FBI agents, State Police, and the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's office for the investigation that brought Desa to justice.

Desa was arrested at his father's residence in Readington almost three weeks after the bank robbery, and was accused of being one of two partners in the Ringoes heist, and two others in Union County.

The robberies in Union County, according to State Police, happened at the Commerce Bank in Springfield Township on April 4, and at Advanced Financial Credit Union in New Providence on April 6.

Desa's accomplice, Jay Fleshman, 31, of Raritan, also pleaded guilty before Pisano earlier this year, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 4.